MIGRATING TO THE u.s.

• Addresses and hours of operation for U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby - Papua New Guinea
• Fees for visas and consular services

IN GENERAL

The three principal ways to immigrate to the United States are: through a family relationship, through employment and through investment. In all cases, the immigration process requires a petition to be filed on the migrant. s behalf. The petition is usually filed in the United States through the Immigration and Naturalization Service (U.S.C.I.S.) office having jurisdiction over the residence or employment area of the petitioner. After the petition is approved, it is forwarded to the consulate or embassy where the beneficiaries reside and where they will submit applications for their immigrant visas. The visas will allow them to enter the United States for permanent residence which will be evidenced by a "green card" issued by U.S.C.I.S.

There are numerical limits on the number of immigrant visas that can be issued in a single year. Priorities are based on the type of visa. The applicant's place of birth also affects the process, as there are limits to the number of visas that can be issued per country. This means that in some visa categories there are waiting periods before an immigrant visa can be issued.  To view the type of immigrant visa categories and the current priority dates for each category, please click here.

A fourth way to immigrate is under the immigrant diversity program, which allows for a lottery once a year.

Appointments are scheduled Monday through Wednesday after applicants notify the office they are ready to immigrate. They notify the office by sending to the U.S. Consulate General Sydney the Form DS-2001, which is included in a packet of instructions mailed to applicants after their petitions have been approved. Appointments are scheduled for dates one to two months after the receipt of Form DS-2001. If approved and assuming there are no other complications, the immigrant visa will be ready for collection the same day. The visa will be valid for six months from the date the visa was approved, although there are special circumstances that may limit the validity of a visa.

However, if on the day of the interview it is determined that the applicant needs to submit additional documentation, those additional documents must be mailed to this office.  He/she will also be required to include a pre-paid self-addressed 3kg Express Post envelope.  This envelope will be used to mail the visa to the applicant once it is issued.

Attorneys may accompany an applicant to the visa interview or participate in the preparation of the visa application.

FEES

There are separate fees for filing the petition, and for processing the application and issuing the immigrant visa.  For applicants obtaining a visa under the Diversity Visa Program ("lottery visa"), there is an additional surcharge. Click here for the current immigrant visa fees.

To request a petition and packet of information, contact us via the details listed below.

Family Sponsored Immigration

American citizens can file petitions on behalf of close family--parents, children (under age 21), spouses, siblings, and sons and daughters (regardless of age). These petitions are filed at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (U.S.C.I.S.) office in the state having jurisdiction over the American citizen petitioner's residence. Once U.S.C.I.S. approves the petition, it will notify the petitioner and forward the approved petition through the State Department to the overseas post where the relative resides.

For spouses and fiancé(e)s of American citizens, the process is the same; however, if the American petitioner is in Papua New Guinea, it is possible to file the petition for a spouse at the American Consulate in  Sydney. Petitions for fiancé(e)s (K-visa) must be filed in the US but a cable notification of the approval of a K-1 petition can be sent to Sydney to begin the visa process. Spouses and fiancé(e)s of American citizens are encouraged to contact the Immigrant Visa Section at the Sydney consulate, about six months before their planned departure (see contact info below).

Legal permanent residents of the US, can file petitions for spouses and their children and unmarried sons and daughters. They must file petitions in the United States through the U.S.C.I.S. The approved petitions will be forwarded through the Department of State to the Embassy or Consulate where the beneficiaries reside.

Employment and Investment-based Immigration

Based on job skills, professional expertise and employment needs in the United States, a US employer can file an employment-based petition to bring workers and their immediate families permanently to the United States. The employer must file a petition with the U.S.C.I.S. office having jurisdiction over the place of proposed employment. In addition to obtaining U.S.C.I.S. approval, certain employment categories requires a certification by the Department of Labor that prevailing wages are met and that the local labor market in the US cannot fill the employment need claimed in the petition. The petition and the certification must be done in the US. Once approved, the petition will be forwarded through the State Department to the Embassy or Consulate where the beneficiaries reside.

Investing in a business that creates employment is another method of immigrating to the US. Applicants for this visa must invest in a new commercial enterprise which will create full-time employment for at least 10 persons other than the investor's spouse and children. The usual minimum investment is US$1 million, but may be as low as US$500,000 if the investment is in a rural or high unemployment area. On the other hand, the required amount can be higher if the investment is made in an area of high employment. A person wanting to immigrate by investment must file a petition with U.S.C.I.S. office in the US having jurisdiction over the area where the new commercial enterprise will be principally doing business.

Diversity Immigrant

Once a year, 55,000 immigrants from countries other than principal sources of current immigration to the US are selected on a lottery basis. The terms and procedures for the lottery are announced each year, near November.

Immigrant Visa inquiries:

• By mail: to the Consular Section, U.S. Embassy, Douglas Street (PO Box 1492), Port Moresby,NCD.
• In person: at the U.S. in Port Moresby, at the above address, on Tuesdays and Thursdays only from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
• By fax: to the Consular Officer at (675) 320-0637.
• NOTE: All immigrant visa applications are processed at the at Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, regardless of where applicant resides. 

Click here for further information from the U.S. Department of State on immigrant visas

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